On Sunday, January 7, Tom Younkman and Rick Oden received a blessing from
Mary before their ten-day trip to the Dominican Republic. When they arrive,
they will present a check for $1500 to the Rt. Rev. Julio Cesar Holguin,
Episcopal bishop of the Dominican Republic. This money is for six
scholarships to the school the two men will be working on -- a building
which is already in use although not finished and without windows and doors.
The money was raised through efforts of the young people of St. John's and
the Outreach Committee. The parish also provided financial support for the
cost of the trip, including the numerous inoculations needed. We look
forward to their report when they return.

Tom & Rick

Almighty God, loving and merciful, you have filled Rick and Tom with your Holy Spirit, given them the skills to build and thereby to heal, and then given them the courage and determination to take those skills to part of the Dominican Republic that tourists never see.  They will be shoulder to shoulder with the poor and the neglected.  Let them see the light of Christ in every person, because it’s there.  Let them not be overwhelmed by the poverty and the desperate needs, but find strength in doing what they are called to do – to build, to help give shape to a brighter future for the poor of the Dominican Republic.

Send them forth, we pray, with your blessing and protection.  Send them forth on this journey always confident of our prayers, support, and our gratitude for their work in your name.  And bring them back to us so that we may have fresh insight into the needs of the world outside our bountiful lives.

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